


The 70's // We Will Rock You

by bryar6



Series: Zouxie Week 2020 [3]
Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: 70's Music, Chaotic best friends that don't know they're in love yet, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Pre-Canon, Thrift Shopping, Zouxie Week 2020, set in the 70's, small collection of oneshots, zouxie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:08:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27362509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bryar6/pseuds/bryar6
Summary: A couple of short and sweet one shots of Zoe and Douxie in the 70's. (1- Douxie and Zoe hear Bohemian Rhapsody for the first time. 2 - Douxie gets his first article of "punk" clothing.)
Relationships: Douxie & Zoe & Archie, Hisirdoux "Douxie" Casperan & Zoe, Hisirdoux "Douxie" Casperan/Zoe
Series: Zouxie Week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1994584
Comments: 7
Kudos: 23





	The 70's // We Will Rock You

**Author's Note:**

> Is the first oneshot an excuse to write about Queen and cassette tapes because I just may have an unhealthy obsession with them? Yes. Likewise, the second is an excuse to write a moment similar to what I had on getting my first leather jacket with a friend in a thrift store. Yeah imma self-project, what about it.

**1975 -- A Song for the Ages**

“Yeah, I told Maria I was busy, so if we could just conveniently be out on a hunt tonight, that would be great.” Zoe tugs at her ear where a new piercing protrudes, the third in a month, totaling five. 

“I don’t see why not,” Douxie replies, reaching up to touch his two classic piercings. Zoe had convinced him to get them, and so far, he hadn’t regretted it once. He tips his head and looks at the black studs in the side mirror. “Let’s switch back to the radio, I hear there’s some new songs by Queen playing.” 

“You’re just saying that because you don’t like my tape.” But Zoe obliges and clicks the radio on. The car spits the cassette out and Douxie tucks it neatly back into its plastic case. 

“It’s not your taste that I have an issue with, I just like to hear new sound once in a while.” Douxie moves through the stations, finally finding one with a clear signal. He lands on one and turns the volume up. “Seriously, there’s a lot of good music out there. If you break out of it once in a while you’ll see what I mean.” 

A couple of more recent pop songs play and they listen as they drive, mostly just background music. But Douxie’s ears perk up when the announcer comes on. 

“And now, with a six minute song, the likes of which you’ve never heard before, Queen,” crackles the radio announcer’s voice. Douxie fist pumps and Zoe rolls her eyes. 

“Six minutes is outrageous. It’ll never get off the ground,” she dismisses. Douxie waves a hand. 

“Oh, it’s Queen. I know even you like their music. I mean come on, it’s British, it’s rock, and it’s fun. What more do you want?” But both of them fall silent as a soft vocal and piano intro begins to play. The song is rather simple at first but absolutely captivating. Douxie reaches over and turns the radio up more. Zoe throws him a warning look, but stays focused on driving. 

The lyrics grow with a swell, becoming something grander and more emotional. Douxie turns the radio up yet again and Zoe smacks his hand away. 

“I’m the driver,” she hisses. He heeds her warning and backs off. 

A guitar solo comes and then turns into a piano piece complimented by vocals- strange choice of words, and unlike anything he’s ever heard before. Zoe this time surreptitiously raises the volume and chews her lip as she listens intently. The rock picks up loudly again and it’s a thunderous and engaging beat that makes Douxie’s heart hit hard in his chest. 

“Zoe, stop the car,” Douxie insists, speaking loudly to be heard over the music. 

“What?” she reaches over and turns it down. 

“Stop the car!” He cranks the radio again and throws her a confused look when she doesn’t pull over. 

“We’re driving! We’re going to be late to the meeting!” Zoe shouts over the guitar and drums. Her face is a cross between fury and confusion. “Why do I need to stop the car?”

“I don’t care!” he replies, a wild grin on his face. Zoe rolls her eyes but pulls off the main road and parks. She cranks her window down and leans back into her seat. Douxie’s eyes are closed and he moves his head to the beat, tapping his fingers on the door with the song. 

Douxie checks the volume again, and it’s all the way up now. His smile is uncontainable as the music plays on. It’s delightfully engaging, unusual, and energetic. He taps his foot harder to the rhythm of the song, wishing he knew the lyrics. It’s a soothing and empowering mix of instruments and lyrics, something mystifying and enrapturing, something that feels so right. Zoe smiles next to him, her tapping fingers betraying her wish to remain indifferent. Douxie just imagines playing the guitar for this song, and eventually, screaming the lyrics in front of a crowd. No matter how much he liked singing his own songs, there was always going to be something to be said for the professionals. 

The lyrics dwindle out, leaving on a sad and emotional note. Douxie shudders a sigh, not realizing he’d been holding his breath. The silence is almost deafening now. 

“That was actually really, really brilliant. I won’t lie,” Zoe says, nodding and placing a hand on her chest as if she can still feel the beat reverberating in her bones. Douxie’s face is still awestruck. He knows this one will be in his heart for the rest of his days. It’s a literal musical masterpiece, and he’s only been blessed to hear it once. 

“Oh, fuzzbuckets. We’ll have to wait for it again to record it.” The two of them laugh and then scramble to turn the volume back down to a manageable level as the radio announcer’s voice splits their eardrums. 

“You heard it here first. That’s a song for the ages, folks…”

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**1976 -- Thrift Shopping**

Douxie sits on a bench outside his bookstore, sifting through his cassettes. He goes past a few Beatles tapes and Elton John before landing on The Ramones. He pops the tape into his Walkman with a satisfying click and slides the headphones over his ears. Something about being able to listen to music in your own little world while still being out and about was blissful. 

Zoe had just introduced him to the newly emerging scene of punk culture, and now, punk rock. The music was interesting and engaging, if not loud, but to Douxie, that was just another plus. He loves discovering new music, and he loves the aesthetic of the tapes and that niche little sub-rock culture he was just getting into. 

Someone taps his shoulder from behind and he looks up, his hood falling off his head. He smiles on seeing her and pulls the headphones down.

“Hey, Zoe.” 

“Hello, Hisirdoux.” He sticks his tongue out at her and she rolls her eyes. She moves around the bench and sits beside him, plucking the Walkman from his hands and ejecting the tape. “Hmm. Good choice.” 

“You gave that one to me,” he laughs. “If anything, my taste at this point is just your taste with an accent.” 

“A British accent,” she teases, replacing the tape and handing it back. He looks away, laughing. “So, we going to that thrift store or not? Because it’s way past time that we got you a leather jacket.” 

“Yes, yes we can go, I was just waiting for you, you know,” he comments, reaching out and messing up her hair. She bats him away and scoops Archie up from his lap. Archie clambers onto her shoulders. 

“You two had better not try to put me in children’s clothing again,” Archie grumbles. Douxie scratches under his familiar’s chin. 

“I think we both already swore off doing that.” They continue down the street, rounding a few corners, and reaching the thrift store. The bell rings above them as they enter and Douxie pauses to let Zoe lead him past racks of brightly colored clothing. She tugs him around a couple corners and points to a long rack of jackets, the end of which has a couple dozen leather ones of varying size. 

Douxie stands and eyes them apprehensively for a long moment. Zoe sighs and checks the tags for size before grabbing one and handing it over to him. 

“Try it on,” she prompts. He slips his sweatshirt off and hands it to her, and then threads his arms through the sleeves. Zoe scrunches her face up. “No, not that one.” 

Douxie sheds it and patiently tries on several more, before Zoe grumbles in exasperation. “How do none of these look right on you?” 

Douxie shrugs. “How should I know what ‘right’ looks like?” Zoe turns around and searches through the nearby racks. He finally moves and sifts through the jackets unprompted. A single string catches his finger as he trails over them and he pulls back. An older, more worn jacket is caught on his nail and he pulls it off the rack and disentangles himself. Before he can go to put it back, a little British flag on the arm catches his eye and he feels slightly nostalgic. 

He slips it on and he smiles, feeling it fit like a glove. It’s worn and well-loved, but a solid piece of clothing, warm but not uncomfortably so, with just the right amount of embellishments and plenty of space left to add his own things to it. He zips it part way and then peeks over the racks, looking for Zoe’s bob of pink hair. He spots her and comes around the stand, hands on his hips. 

“What do you say to this one?” he asks, puffing his chest and grinning. Zoe’s eyes widen a little, but she shakes herself out of it. 

“I- uh, that looks great, actually. Huh, didn’t see it there.” She runs a hand down the material and nods approvingly. “Yeah, that’s the one, isn’t it.” 

She grabs his hand and yanks him in front of a tall mirror, studying their reflections. Douxie turns and eyes the jacket, pursing his lips and nodding. 

“I like it,” he says, touching the spikes protruding from the shoulders. Zoe nods again, and grabs a nearby cowboy hat and jumps on her tiptoes to settle on his head. He adjusts it and then looks to the mirror again and snorts, sending both of them into a laughing fit. 

Archie sits nearby and smiles at his friends as they put on increasingly strange apparel. “I’ll never get tired of them,” he says quietly with a smile. He lays his head down and prepares to spend the afternoon here, listening to their antics, but he certainly didn’t mind.

**Author's Note:**

> These are are on the short side because Day 5 is lookin like a big one...and possibly my favorite of these days so far, super fluffy and cuteeee as heck coming right up. Also, I could write about them in the 70's for days, so if I feel like it at a later point, I'll just add some chapters to this piece, but that'll be a while out lol.


End file.
